How Americans Spend the Fourth of July

(and also how much money Americans spend on the Fourth of July)

It’s July 4, 2017 and we want to wish all of our U.S. based readers a happy fourth! We hope you enjoy the day!

The XINOSI team, however, didn’t exactly get today off – rather, we were busy crunching numbers to help us better understand how Americans spend the Fourth of July holiday.

We can’t say how they spend it every year, but below is a summary of our findings on how American are spending it THIS YEAR!

First off, not everyone gets the day off. According to our poll, most (74%) Americans do get the day off from work (and school), but about a quarter (26%) do not get July 4th off.

(An interesting side note – 41% were off (from work or school) on Monday, July 3rd while 59% did not get the Monday before July 4th off. Looks like those legendary 4 day weekends don’t happen as often as we would like.)

So how are Americans spending this year’s Fourth of July?

About half (51%) report staying home, while 44% say that they will be attending a social gathering (like a party or BBQ) at someone else’s home (a friend’s home, a family member’s home, etc.).

Roughly one in ten (11%) say that they will go a park, while 4% will get some sun at the beach. Just 3% say that they will go see a movie at a movie theater.

(Note that those who say that they will stay home may also be hosting their own BBQ party or other event – we didn’t probe into the details of what they will be doing at home).

Consumer Spending on the Fourth of July.

On Average, Americans report spending around $60 on Fourth of July related expenses. As the chart below summarizes, the largest contingent (50%) reports spending less than $25. Seventeen percent report spending in the $25 to $50 range, 19% report spending in the $50 to $100 range, and 11% report spending in the $100 to $250 range.

A small portion of the population (combined 3%) spend more than $250…some even spend more than $500 (but that’s just 1% of the total).

Generally speaking, this year’s Fourth of July spending either matches last year’s spending (31%) or is less than last year’s spending (45%). About a quarter (24%) of respondents report spending more this year on Fourth of July expenditures than they did last year.

And finally, we looked at spending by Fourth of July related activities.

We found that beach goers spend the most (averaging $64.09), while those who plan on staying home spend the least (spending around half of what the beach going crowd spends, coming in at $32.48).

Those who plan on spending the holiday at a park or at a social gathering outside their home will spend around $56 ($56.21 and $56.05, respectively), while those who are planning to go see a movie will spend just a little more than the stay-at-homes, with their average spending coming in at $34.29.

And there you have it folks! That’s how Americans spend the Fourth of July. If you’ve got questions, we’re here to give you answers.

About Us

We are an on going survey of the human condition. If you want to know what people think, like or don't like, buy, spend money on or just do on the weekends - you've come to the right place. Can't find an answer to a social, behavioral, belief or market question on this site? No problem - send in your question and we'll do our best to answer it for you.